This is Cornwall --
A ST NEOT motorist tried to bribe police after being stopped by them for his fourth drink-related driving offence, a prosecutor told a court.
Daniel Giddings, 28, of Colliford Lake Park, was handed a suspended prison sentence with a curfew and banned from driving for four years at Bodmin court on November 7.
He had pleaded guilty on October 10 to driving while unfit through drink in St Austell on July 25 and just two months later on September 8 driving with excess alcohol in his breath in Bodmin, his fifth such offence.
Will Rose, for the prosecution, said that both offences were very serious.
At 11pm on July 25 two police officers on duty on the A390 Holmbush Road, St Austell, saw a Mercedes E300 being driven erratically and stopped it opposite the St Austell Garden Centre.
Giddings, who was driving the vehicle belonging to his mother without her permission, failed a roadside breath test and was arrested at 11.06am.
"He was desperate to do anything to avoid prosecution, offering bribes and trying to delay the process," said Mr Rose.
At the police station a breath test showed Giddings had 65 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the limit being 35mcg.
In the early hours of September 8, officers attended a Land Rover on fire on Launceston Road, Bodmin, and found that Giddings had the keys and had been driving it. Again he gave a positive roadside breath sample, was arrested and taken to the police station where a further sample showed he had 91 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
The court was told that Giddings had been banned from driving for 18 months in 2003 for a drink-drive offence and for three years in 2010 for a similar offence. That ban had been lifted early, on September 30, 2012, following an application to the court by Giddings.
Giddings, who was not legally represented, told the court he was sorry for the offences. He rejected the suggestion that he had tried to bribe the officers, saying the conversation had not been serious.
After considering a pre-sentence report, Giddings was sentenced to an eight-week jail term, suspended for six months, with a curfew four nights a week from 8pm to 5am.
He was ordered to pay £150 costs and an £80 victim surcharge and told his ban would be reduced by 48 weeks if he completes a drink-drive rehabilitation course.
Magistrates warned him that he was now classed as a "high risk" offender. Reported by This is 5 hours ago.
A ST NEOT motorist tried to bribe police after being stopped by them for his fourth drink-related driving offence, a prosecutor told a court.
Daniel Giddings, 28, of Colliford Lake Park, was handed a suspended prison sentence with a curfew and banned from driving for four years at Bodmin court on November 7.
He had pleaded guilty on October 10 to driving while unfit through drink in St Austell on July 25 and just two months later on September 8 driving with excess alcohol in his breath in Bodmin, his fifth such offence.
Will Rose, for the prosecution, said that both offences were very serious.
At 11pm on July 25 two police officers on duty on the A390 Holmbush Road, St Austell, saw a Mercedes E300 being driven erratically and stopped it opposite the St Austell Garden Centre.
Giddings, who was driving the vehicle belonging to his mother without her permission, failed a roadside breath test and was arrested at 11.06am.
"He was desperate to do anything to avoid prosecution, offering bribes and trying to delay the process," said Mr Rose.
At the police station a breath test showed Giddings had 65 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the limit being 35mcg.
In the early hours of September 8, officers attended a Land Rover on fire on Launceston Road, Bodmin, and found that Giddings had the keys and had been driving it. Again he gave a positive roadside breath sample, was arrested and taken to the police station where a further sample showed he had 91 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
The court was told that Giddings had been banned from driving for 18 months in 2003 for a drink-drive offence and for three years in 2010 for a similar offence. That ban had been lifted early, on September 30, 2012, following an application to the court by Giddings.
Giddings, who was not legally represented, told the court he was sorry for the offences. He rejected the suggestion that he had tried to bribe the officers, saying the conversation had not been serious.
After considering a pre-sentence report, Giddings was sentenced to an eight-week jail term, suspended for six months, with a curfew four nights a week from 8pm to 5am.
He was ordered to pay £150 costs and an £80 victim surcharge and told his ban would be reduced by 48 weeks if he completes a drink-drive rehabilitation course.
Magistrates warned him that he was now classed as a "high risk" offender. Reported by This is 5 hours ago.